“Love You, Mean It” is a fun romcom that is reminiscent of its predecessors in the genre: the enemies to lovers trope, someone developing amnesia, and an ex who is still in love with the male love interest. It’s a pretty easy and low-stakes read!

Truthfully, I wouldn’t recommend this one unless you are committed to the genre in its highs and its lows. While I am a big supporter of women’s wrongs, the main character (Ellie) is a hard one to root for. The book would probably have been about 1/3 shorter if she wasn’t so committed to hurting the relationships she makes (both romantic and platonic). I found myself supporting the aforementioned ex for the majority of the plot; this would have been a cute way to subvert the typical happy ending, but sadly that was not the outcome.

“Love You, Mean It” will be out next year on April 30th—and thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an ARC to review!

I was not familiar with Jilly Gagnon's work so I was not sure what to expect.

Love You, Mean It is a easy "beach/vacation" read. It is a story about Ellie Greco who is running her family's deli after the loss of her father. Despite enjoying the work, Ellie feels like she has no choice but to continue the family tradition.

Theo Taylor, her deli's landlord, is rumored to be bringing in a big conglomerate foody store that would destroy her family's business.

A well-timed amnesia puts Ellie in the position to say that she is Theo's fiance with hopes that her business will not be destroyed. Ellie's charades doesn't last long but Theo and Ellie decide to work together to hopefully get what they both want.

This is a predictable rom-com and was an easy read.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @Netgalley and @randomhouse for this advanced copy!

This book filled with fake dating, amnesia and dueling businesses reminds us that we will go to any length to help our families. While I struggled with the believability of some of the plot, I would this romantic comedy very playful and heartfelt. Definitely a book worth cozying up with!

A 3.5 rounding up to 3.

Ellie loses her father making her responsible in keeping their family business which is a decades old deli. Her passion lies in creating costumes and dresses which didn’t really end up the way she wants it to be. So why not try managing the deli right? But she always believes that she’s meant to do better things than being stuck in the store. Ellie’s life suddenly gets complicated when the local landlord decides to rent the place to a gourmet food department store which is bound to destroy their shop and along with it, their family legacy. She gathers her courage to meet Theo who’s in charge to change his mind about renting the place when an accident makes him loose his memory. With Theo having no memory, Ellie chooses to act like his fiancé because Theo’s father would not let his son’s fiancé’s business to go down right? Theo regains his memory after a while and they together form a plan to save the deli which involves fake dating. But what happens when they start building a strong attraction to each other? What happens when Theo’s ex Sam, asks Ellie’s help to get back together with him?

I really enjoyed the plot set up and the characters. There were some parts that were great. However, overall I found myself drifting away from the story. The amnesia set up didn’t feel right and some family banter was dragged too much. The spice felt disconnected as well. It’s an average read and did not spark anything special for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing, imprint Dell for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

This book was a cute, quick read! As a Sicilian who was raised surrounded by family, I deeply resonated with Ellie and her family. I'm not sure if I would have had the same willpower to turn down a big Italian superstore, like Mangia lol. I loved the stubbornness of Mimi as it truly emanates the spirit of every Italian nona. Personally, I liked Ellie and her family's story more than the love story between Ellie and Theo. Would love to see a spin off about just them or maybe Ellie's mom finding love again, idk. I too couldn't see the connection between them and felt as though the romance came out of nowhere.

Thank you PRH Audio for the free audiobook and Netgalley for the e-arc!

I was fortunate enough to listen to the audiobook while following along on my kindle! This was my first book by the author and I really enjoyed it!

Ellie comes back to her small town to help run her family’s deli. When the deli is threatened, she does what she needs to, to save the deli which includes fake dating Theo.

It took me sometime to get into the story but once I did I really enjoyed it! I loved the banter between Theo and Ellie! Ellie was always so quick with her comeback to Theo it was hilarious! I loved the family dynamic of Ellie and her family!

The audiobook was great! Amanda Ronconi is a new narrator to me and I think she did a great job bringing the story and characters to life! She was great at switching her voice up for each character!

Read if you like:
Fake Dating
Small Town
GrumpyxSunshine
Rivals to Lovers